16. Dieter Rams...Swoon.

Recently I stumbled upon some information about Dieter Rams, he's a legend in the design world.  His passion is to create great design that also do good, function well and enhance experience; chances are you have one of his designs in your kitchen and if you're like me you use it everyday- your coffee maker.  If it's braun it's designed by this guy.

Swoon...I love this stuff.

He has inspired many other great designers to go on to do great things, and he has summed up his philosophy in 10 simple guidelines for the creation of good design

Good Design:
1. Is innovative
2. Makes a product useful
3. Is aesthetic
4. Makes a product understandable
5. Is unobtrusive
6. Is honest
7. Is long-lasting
8. Is useful down to the last detail
9. Is environmentally friendly
10. Is as little design as possible

I particularly like that last one, good design is as little design as possible.  What a great way to say, don't over think it and keep it simple.  All of these tips apply to more than just design, they apply to advertising, you could even apply them to life if you feel like getting really deep.

It's like the mantra of the ad world, rephrased in design lingo.  But when you replace "good design" with "good advertising" it works.